LEADING HEALTH CARE EXPERTS DENOUNCE GRAHAM-CASSIDY

AMA, AHA, AHIP, Others Call For “Real, Bipartisan Solutions”

(Nashville, TN) – This weekend, a coalition of America’s top health care provider advocacy groups and insurance groups strongly urged the Senate to reject the Graham-Cassidy health care repeal bill.

In a joint statement released Saturday, the coalition states, “While we sometimes disagree on important issues in health care, we are in total agreement that Americans deserve a stable healthcare market that provides access to high-quality care and affordable coverage for all. The Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill does not move us closer to that goal. The Senate should reject it.”

 

They cite concerns regarding the weakening of patient protections, drastic cuts to Medicaid, coverage losses, and higher costs as their primary reasons for opposing the bill. They also criticize the inadequately short amount of time that the bill gives states to transform their health care systems, which they call “an impossible task.”

 

“Health care is too important to get wrong. Let’s take the time to get it right. Let’s agree to find real, bipartisan solutions that make health care work for every American,” the statement concludes.

 

The full statement can be read here.

 

The coalition includes:

• American Medical Association

• American Academy of Family Physicians

• American Hospital Association

• Federation of American Hospitals

• America’s Health Insurance Plans

• BlueCross BlueShield Association